We have a lot going on right now, and many of these things are tough to wrap our heads around. One is the Cape house. I haven't mentioned it here, but in October, we bought the house next to Eric's family's property. It was a joint purchase with his brother and his wife, and their mom. Yes, it's exciting, but there is much that needs to be done and it's hard to accomplish anything from such a distance. With that said, we're in the beginning stages of some work... making lists, getting quotes, and lots of time browsing through websites figuring out how to best proceed with these projects. I have been given the task of getting things in order with the kitchen, which makes sense since I spend as much time cooking down there as I do in the lake or reading in the hammock.

When we left the house at the beginning of November, we had done as much as we could. Rooms were cleaned and we even got a bit of painting done (ok, it was a giant amount of painting... 21 kitchen cabinets and a large living room, to be exact). I think we were all a bit burnt out by the end of that. I had little desire to think about any of it, but seeing that we're already in February, I think the time has come to stop procrastinating. Before we know it, April will be here and we'll be on our way to open the house(s).

Last week, I needed my spirits lifted and there are few things that do that better than a vibrant boozy beverage garnished with a ridiculous amount of fresh mint. A cobbler came to mind and I worked a little spin in there by muddling raspberries, which provided some nice color and sweetness (most cobbler recipes call for some sugar, but I didn't think that was necessary here).